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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken States White House Does Not Support Ceasefire in Israeli Incursion into Gaza But Does Support Humanitarian Pause; Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Describes Operations Targeting Hamas Militants Near Civilian Buildings; Large Crowd Gathers at U.S. Capital for Pro-Palestinian Demonstration; Israeli Woman Whose Husband Kidnapped and Child Killed by Hamas Terrorists During Livestream Describes Her Experience; Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman Interviewed on Information Out of Gaza on Reported Casualties of Israeli Invasion; President Biden Visits Lewiston, Maine, after Deadly Mass Shooting Shocks Community. Aired 2- 3p ET.

Aired November 04, 2023 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:02:14]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us in the CNN Newsroom. I am Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv. We'll get to you in a minute, Wolf.

We begin this hour in the Middle East where calls for a ceasefire are growing as Israeli forces close in on Gaza City. Today, officials from several Arab nations called for an immediate ceasefire following a high stakes summit with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. But Blinken had the U.S. position clear. Now is not the time for Israel to hold back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's our view that the ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on October 7th. And you don't have to take my word for it. Just a few days ago, senior Hamas officials said that it was their intent to do October 7th again and again and again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Across Gaza today, more scenes of destruction. Israeli forces continuing their barrage on the enclave, and we are also watching significant developments along the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. A U.S. official tells CNN Hamas is now blocked foreign nationals from exiting Gaza until Israel guarantees that ambulances from Gaza can reach the crossing. A source tells CNN more than 700 people are waiting to cross into Egypt, including nearly 400 Americans. Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Thank you, Fred.

I'm joined now by the IDF spokesperson, Major Doron Spielman. Major, thank you so much for joining us. I first want to ask you about this explosion today at a United Nations run school inside of Gaza. That school was said to be sheltering refugees. Images obtained by CNN show damage, bloodshed, and casualties within the school's courtyard. Is there anything you can tell us about what happened there?

MAJOR DORON SPIELMAN, IDF SPOKESPERSON: Thank you for having me, Wolf. As we know, this is, again, a vision, an image that we never wanted to see. I see these images and it pains me, also, I think every Israeli. We were never looking for anything, nobody woke up here a month ago and even thought we would be at war with Hamas, certainly not the images on the Israeli side and neither on the Gazan side.

This is another example. We do know that people were hiding in the hospital where Hamas was identified acting directly next to the hospital. We know, Wolf, that we may have fired in that area and it could have been that shrapnel or some other type of explosion, secondary explosion in the general area may have reflected back into the hospital. It's still under review. We have never attacked hospitals. We have not attacked hospitals whatever.

[14:05:02]

And even though, as you know and your viewers know, we have provided proof that Hamas is directly underneath that hospital with their command and control center carrying out terror operations. It really ties our hand in trying to eliminate this organization that is planning additional terror attacks as we speak.

BLITZER: We have also seen, as you know, airstrikes near, at least, two hospitals in the last day or two or so, including a strike at an ambulance convoy which left dozens of casualties. The Hamas run health ministry in Gaza says those ambulances were not being used by Hamas terrorists. What do you say?

SPIELMAN: First of all, as you mentioned, it is the Hamas run health ministry. It really is Hamas more than the health ministry. Everything they say I think we have to take a step back and ask ourselves, can we trust Hamas as a credible source. Certainly, we think the answer is no.

In this case, as we provided information, we did identify a terrorist threat inside those ambulances. We provided information where even in Hamas courtyard, we see Red Cross ambulances sitting there. We know, and this is not a new thing. Since 2014, Haman has been taking ambulances and hiding their terrorists inside of them, making the most cynical use of important medical assets for their own terror use. It is extremely difficult to fight against. Again, I think it just once again shows that this is Hamas's play group when they know that Israel would respond. The first thing they said is how can we get world opinion on our side? Let's show blown-up ambulances. And that's what they use as their Uber. It's just ambulances to go around Gaza. And if you identify an active threat, we of course will eliminate a threat that's an imminent threat. BLITZER: Earlier today, the IDF says Hamas used an announcement

telling Gaza residents to move safely south as an opportunity to fire on IDF soldiers. What more can you tell us about that attack?

SPIELMAN: Well, again, very sad. As the international community and we feel, the key idea here is to get these innocent civilians, and they are innocent civilians, out of Gaza City. We provided open hours, humanitarian corridors. And finally we get an additional movement heading down south. And we see incoming Hamas artillery fire directly at the position of that corridor that leads into the safe zone which had to be closed off.

And, again, it is one more time where not only are we trying to get civilians out of the way. Hamas is trying to keep them in the way because they know as soon as those civilians are gone, Wolf, we are able to continue with our objectives and immediately eliminate them. It will be much quicker. It will not have a civilian threat. They are doing everything they can to try to stop us from achieving that goal.

BLITZER: It was interesting that Egypt's foreign minister said today, Major, that Israel's actions in Gaza, and I'm quoting him now, cannot be justified as legitimate self-defense. I want to get your response to what we heard from the Egyptian foreign minister.

SPIELMAN: I think if there has ever been a case of self-defense, Wolf, this is it. I think that we all know that before October 7th, not a single Israel, we didn't want this war. We didn't seek this war. We were attacked, 1,400 civilians brutally murdered, 241 men, women, and children, including that nine-month-old baby and multiple five and six-year-olds in Gaza. I cannot think of another situation that would more require a country to go to war in order to defend itself.

And as Secretary of State Blinken said, even the Hamas spokesman was bold enough to say that they are preparing as of these recordings, they are performing additional scenarios for October 7th against Israel. And therefore, the greatest thing that we could do is defend our civilians. The only way to do that is to destroy Hamas. This is a clear case of self-defense.

BLITZER: IDF soldiers are said to be closing in on Gaza City right now. How soon, Major, do you expect the IDF will conclude its operation against Hamas in Gaza?

SPIELMAN: I think, Wolf, that it's going to take a great deal of time, and the reason I'm saying that is as we have already provided information. Tomorrow, by the way, we're going to be providing more information to you and to your viewers. You are chasing a terrorist squad. We just got our soldiers that were involved in the October 7th attack, you chase them into a building with civilians. We don't want to shoot because there are civilians there. You open their door in hot pursuit. And you see two shouts on the ground with no in there. You look down the shouts, and they go down, 40 or 50 feet underneath the ground into a web. That is how Hamas is operating.

In order for us to succeed in eliminating them and trying to provide the least casualties, of course, on our side, and to Gazan civilians, this is an incredibly difficult operation.

[14:10:01]

It's basically one side plays with no rules, and we are playing with rules. And so therefore, time I think is on our side. It is the only way we're going to be able to get this done effectively.

BLITZER: Major Doron Spielman of the IDF, thank you so much for joining us.

SPIELMAN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN was part of the first group of foreign press granted access to Israeli forces inside Gaza. Journalists embedded with the IDF in Gaza operate under the observation of Israeli commanders in the field and are not permitted to move unaccompanied within the Gaza Strip. As a condition to enter Gaza under IDF escort, outlets have to submit all materials and footage to the Israeli military for review prior to publication. CNN has agreed to these terms in order to provide a limited window into Israel's operations in Gaza.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond was there. Jeremy, tell us what you were able to see.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we met up with Israeli forces on the Israeli side of the Gaza border. We then entered into these armored personnel carriers. It was just a very small group of us, me and two other reporters who were in this group with a lieutenant colonel who took us into Gaza, Wolf. It took about 20 minutes of driving into Gaza, this armored personnel carrier making frequent stops to look around and check for possible threats from Hamas militants inside the Gaza Strip. We eventually arrived at our location which was an Israeli military post inside Gaza about a kilometer from the Gaza border on the outskirts of Gaza City. And when we got there, Wolf, this is what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: We are right now at an Israeli military post inside the Gaza Strip about one kilometer inside of Gaza. Gaza City is just this way. And as you can hear behind me, there is a lot of ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. What they are trying to do right now is to flank the Hamas positions. That's what the battalion commander just told me. And all of this is intended to try and cut off Gaza City from the southern part of the strip as Israeli forces also move in from the north.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And Wolf, while we were there, the commanders told me that we were just about 100 meters from the front line contact line with Hamas fighters both to the north as well as to the south, because where we were, Wolf, is along this kind of strip where a strip of land going west to east where Israeli forces are effectively trying to cut off the northern part of the Gaza Strip from the southern part as they encircle the city of Gaza, Gaza City.

We know that Israeli forces are operating inside of Gaza City, that they have encircled it. And now, Wolf, the question is, will they go actually inside and do the kind of potentially very bloody, very deadly urban combat that would be required if, indeed, they want to go in and clear out that city of Hamas. That city is, indeed, a Hamas stronghold, Wolf.

But one thing was made very clear to me, is that even as there are certain points where they believe are the front line positions of Hamas fighters, they also know that these Hamas fighters can pop up anywhere in the Gaza Strip because of that network of underground tunnels. And it was very clear to me in my conversations at this military base today that those soldiers, that is their number one concern is those underground tunnels which they have been working to clear.

These soldiers at this post inside the Gaza Strip, they were also working to establish what they said is a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians from the northern part of Gaza to escape to the southern part. Of course, what we also know, Wolf, is that in recent days and weeks, Israeli forces have been bombing residential areas of Gaza where they say there are underground tunnels beneath those residential building. But as they are targeting those Hamas militants, Wolf, we also know that there have been a number of civilian casualties. Thousands of children alone, Wolf, have died, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in recent weeks. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, stay safe over there. Thank you very, very much.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Wolf and Jeremy.

Happening right now, a pro-Palestinian rally is underway in Washington, D.C. Take a look at the crowds right there. Demonstrators in big numbers are demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. The crowd at the march has been growing by the moments as event organizers planned for tens of thousands to attend. CNN correspondent Gabe Cohen is live for us from Freedom Plaza in the nation's capital. Gabe, tell us about what people have been saying.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, Fred, we've had to move to the edge of this rally because it is the only place we can get a signal right now. This crowd has rapidly grown, all of Freedom Plaza now taken up. And there are also huge groups still pouring in. One beside me with this huge Palestinian flag.

[14:15:03]

Look, the organizers said they expected this to be the largest free Palestine rally in U.S. history. It remains to be seen if that is the case, but certainly a massive crowd here. And we're really in the heart of the district. Just a couple blocks from the National Mall and just a couple blocks from the White House, where these protesters are going to be marching right around 4:00 p.m. when these speeches wrap up and they're going to be demonstrating there later on this afternoon.

We have been listening to these speeches, hearing, of course, common themes, one, calling for an end to the bombing and the ground incursions in Gaza, but also political pressure on President Biden with some of the speakers saying that the days, one in particular, saying the days of Arab Americans voting for a Democrat like Joe Biden are numbered if his unequivocal support of Israel and the bombings in Gaza continue. It is something that we have heard now for weeks, but the rhetoric has really ramped up from some of the speakers that we are hearing.

And look, as you said, Fred, as I mentioned, the crowd here continues to grow, many thousands of people, it looks like, and it doesn't seem to be stopping with more and more people arriving.

WHITFIELD: In about an hour-and-a-half from now, they will make their way to the White House just a couple of blocks away. Gabe Cohen, thank you so much.

Coming up, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan today meeting with Arab foreign ministers. More on this high-stakes summit right after this.

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[14:20:37]

BLITZER: With Israel's war against Hamas intensifying right now in Gaza, today the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Jordan meeting with officials from several Arab countries in a very high- stakes summit. CNN's Jennifer Hansler is traveling with the secretary. She is joining us live from Amman, Jordan, right now. Jennifer, this is Secretary Blinken's third visit to the region since the Hamas attack on Israel back on October 7th. What did he have to say today following the meetings?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Wolf, Blinken really sought to emphasize the points of commonality between the United States and its Arab partners on their approach to the war in Israel. And there are not a lot of points of commonality there. He said they do all share the same objective, which is to get this conflict to end with a sustainable peace. And he said they also agree on the need for humanitarian assistance to urgently reach the population in Gaza that so desperately needs it.

However, there is still clearly a major divide on one of the biggest key issues here, and that the calls for a ceasefire. We saw the Egyptian foreign minister, the Jordanian foreign minister standing there next to Blinken at a press conference after that summit today and again call for that immediate ceasefire, and very strongly condemn the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Blinken doubled down on the U.S. position, which is that it is not a time for ceasefire right now. They are aligned with the Israeli approach, that this would give Hamas time to regroup and potentially re-attack. Instead, the U.S. has called for what they are saying is a

humanitarian pause to allow aid to get in, to allow civilians to leave. But we saw Israeli officials yesterday, Benjamin Netanyahu in particular, just reject this entirely. They said they would not seek a pause, they would not seek a ceasefire until Hamas releases those hostages.

We know this is something that Blinken brought up in his meetings in Tel Aviv yesterday. He also brought up the rising violence in the West Bank by some of these extremist settlers. That was something else that was discussed at the meeting today. And another big focus of this trip is the attempt to stop this conflict from widening, from broadening into the region. He said that was discussed at today's summit, and each of the members said they would use their influence to stop that from happening. Here were Blinken's exact words on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Throughout this conflict, countries across the Middle East and beyond have played an essential role in preventing its spread. Today, we all agreed on the importance of using our respective influence and capabilities to deter any state or nonstate actor from opening another front in this conflict or taking other destabilizing action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: And this is, of course, going to be a topic of conversation for Blinken's stop in Turkey tomorrow. Wolf?

BLITZER: Jennifer Hansler in Amman, Jordan, for us with the Secretary of State. Thank you very much.

Coming up, on October 7th, Hamas terrorists murdered the 17-year-old daughter of Gali Idan and held the rest of her family hostage for hours. Then kidnapped her husband. She shares her account of what happened and what her family is doing to try to bring her husband home. My very emotional interview with her, that comes up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here in Israel this week, I had the chance to speak with a woman named Gali Idan, a victim of the Hamas attacks who has been living in nightmare since October 7th. Earlier that morning, air raid sirens started going off in the Nahal Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border. Gali ran into the shelter with her husband, Tzachi, their nine-year- old son, Shahar, their 11-year-old daughter, Yael, and their 18-year- old daughter, Maayan. Then the Hamas terrorists entered their house and tried to force their way into the shelter, shooting and killing Maayan through the door.

The Idan's family and friends saw what was happening because the Hamas terrorists used a neighbor's phone to livestream the attack on Facebook. After murdering their daughter, Hamas terrorists also took Gali's phone and livestreamed the rest of her family being held hostage on the floor for hours and hours. In a final act of terror, Hamas kidnapped Gali's husband, Tzachi, and took him to Gaza. Now in my conversation with Gali, we want to warn our viewers, what you're about to hear and see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GALI IDAN, DAUGHTER KILLED, HUSBAND KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: We woke up because they were screaming that alert for missiles are on and our daughters yelled to come to the shelter. Tzachi and I looked at each other and said something's wrong. And they got a message that there's a fear of terrorist attack on the kibbutz.

BLITZER: They might be crossing the border into the kibbutz.

IDAN: Yes, they might be crossing the border into the kibbutz and crossing the fence into the kibbutz and the houses. So they told us to keep quiet.

Now, you need to understand that kids when they're fearful, they cannot be quiet. We were all in this tiny room which is the kids' room, the sleeping area, because -- so we won't wake them up.

[14:30:03]

They started to say that they are walking in the path, you know, in the kibbutz and --

BLITZER: The terrorists.

IDAN: Yes. So Tzachi took a chair. Sorry, he took a chair and put it near the door because we don't have an actual lock on the door. And we were like waiting and being quiet, just, you know, fearful and crying. The kids were crying and trying to calm them down. And between our house in the neighbor's house, and we heard the glass shatter. And after a while we heard somebody walking in the house. You heard them walking on the broken glass. And it wasn't like one person. You can hear. And we were quieting the kids and, you know, like --

BLITZER: You were huddled together?

IDAN: Yes. Me and Shahar and Yael underneath the bed with Maayan and Tzachi was near the door, and we were really, really scared and --

BLITZER: Were you hearing Arabic?

IDAN: No, they were not talking until they got into the door, the shelter door. And then we heard in Hebrew. And they banged on the door really loud and said, open the door, open the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

IDAN: Help. Open the door.

BLITZER: In Hebrew they said that? IDAN: In Hebrew. Unfortunately, there was Tommer (ph). He was killed afterwards. He was a 17-year-old boy from the kibbutz. And they used him to open doors like a bait.

BLITZER: So it was Tommer (ph) who was speaking in Hebrew?

IDAN: Yes. And then when they saw Tzachi, Tzachi locked the door and struggle it, you know, to lock it real hard. And they started shouting. We do not shoot. We do not shoot. Open, open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not shoot. Open the door or I will not shoot.

IDAN: You could hear three or four of them shouting and Tzachi struggling the door. And they fought him to open the door. And they're still shouting and shouting. And then Maayan saw that there's a crack starting to open, and she jumped on the door to help Tzachi close it. At that moment there was a gunshot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will shoot. I will shoot now.

IDAN: I was hanging on to one of the kids, I think it was Yael. I'm not sure. And then Tzachi was shouting, who got shot, who got shot? And then he said it was Maayan, it's Maayan, it's Maayan. Help, help. It's Maayan.

BLITZER: It's your daughter.

IDAN: It's my daughter. It's my 18-and-four-days daughter. And he was, he was -- I didn't see him because there was no light yet, but the light came on. And I saw Tzachi. I think it was over her or she dropped near him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go out. Go out.

IDAN: I didn't see her yet. And then Tzachi was yelling. She's dead. She's -- help her, help her, she's dying, she's dying, because he was in a pile of blood of her blood. He was sitting there, you know, with his hands on his head. And he was saying, Maayan, help her, Gali help Maayan. And I went to her. And I saw her on her back straight. Still, you know, shaking, the body was still shaking, but she was in there because when I checked her, he said, check where's she's bleeding from. And I checked, and it was, I went up to the head. And then I felt the injury. And I said, I said to Tzachi, she's gone. She's gone. She's not here. She's gone. And they took us out. Immediately they took us everybody --

BLITZER: The terrorists.

IDAN: Yes. And they told the kids not to look. I shouted at them not to look because I didn't want them to see their dead sister in a pile of blood. Tzachi went out with his hands and knees, all bloody.

Then afterwards, I realized that I was live on Facebook with Tommer's (ph) mother's phone, and that everybody saw them entering and shooting the door, the door of the shelter and killing Maayan actually. [14:35:12]

They sat us on the floor and took my phone and said, is this your phone? I said yes. What do you need my phone for? And he said, I want to do live on Facebook. What's your code? I gave him the code. And he just started, say, repeat after me. And he said -- I don't remember the exact message. But he told me something to say that about the government, or I don't remember the exact thing, but that they are here and they're fighting. And then they took the phone and actually started filming us live.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

IDAN: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

IDAN: Now I thought it was done. And I'm still trying to understand what happened or shocked, and Tzachi was broken. He couldn't speak. He was crying. And the kids asked Tzachi what -- are you bleeding? And he said no. And then he just nodded his head and I had to tell the kids that they just killed Maayan, and it's her blood. And then the kids started crying and shouting. And they said to the terrorists holding us hostage said, don't kill us. Please, don't kill us. And they were filming it all the time. I realized that now, but I didn't know then. And I was still in shock about Maayan.

And then the red color, the alert started shouting that their missiles coming. And I told them, I tried to jump to the shelter, and they said no, no. You're staying here.

He said don't worry, our commander knows we're here so he won't shoot some missiles in here you're safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: She also talked about burying her daughter and how she is hopeful, very hopeful, she's hopeful her husband Tzachi will still come home. Our thanks to Gali for sharing this story with us.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv. I'll be back in THE SITUATION ROOM on Monday. CNN Newsroom continues with Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. With Israel pushing further into Gaza, each hour calls for an end to the fighting are growing around the world. This week a group of interfaith organizations spoke in Georgia about the desperate need to stop the bloodshed. They called for an immediate ceasefire to allow full access to emergency humanitarian aid, and to end what they call the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ILISE COHEN, CO-FOUNDER, JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE, ATLANTA CHAPTER: We must not forget our shared humanity in times of unspeakable loss. We know all too well the consequences of blind violence, and it is this that compels us to say never again. Never again for anyone. Never again in Gaza, never again, especially in our name. We demand a ceasefire now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us now is Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman. She is the first Muslim woman and only Palestinian American, state representative in the Georgia state house. Representative Romman, so good to see you.

RUWA ROMMAN, (D) GEORGE STATE HOUSE: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: So tell me how important it was, and perhaps even surprising it was to get the invitation to be a part of this interfaith meeting, speaking as a consequence of what has happened between Israel and Gaza, Hamas.

ROMMAN: Absolutely. I am a state representative, which means I have little jurisdiction over international issues. And I feel that's really important to tell people, because I never want to give them false hope that I'm able to more than I can. But on the flipside I'm also the only Palestinian elected in Georgia. And so when I got the call, I honestly didn't feel like I was capable of answering that call, but I also knew that that Palestinian voice was really important to have. And so I went.

WHITFIELD: Why were you, at first, reluctant?

ROMMAN: I have been in office for nine months now. I'm a first-year state representative. And this is sort of not my area -- it's not my area, not necessarily of expertise, because being Palestinian is such a unique experience. But being in front of media, doing these kinds of interviews is just not the experience that I have had.

WHITFIELD: As a result of October 7, you have only been in office nine months, but has your experience been different? Have people approached you differently? Have they reacted to you differently? What has the last couple of weeks been like for you?

ROMMAN: Absolutely. Everything is much heavier. It feels like the oxygen has been sucked out of everything, even sort of relationships. And it's a weird spectrum. Some people I haven't really heard from that I used to hear from quite often, and then others are constantly checking in to make sure I am OK because it is such a difficult time. And it's just such a different spectrum of experiences as it relates to me talking to people than I have been used to.

WHITFIELD: And how are you feeling? Given what we have seen with the ongoing conflict, today U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when at first the White House was saying let's have a humanitarian pause, today Blinken said no ceasefire because there is a concern it would give Hamas an opportunity to regroup. So, how does all of that sit with you?

[14:45:11]

ROMMAN: Yes, it's an unfortunate reality because it seems to me like a lot of people keep forgetting there are 2 million people in the Gaza Strip with nowhere to go. And everybody who is saying you can just displace them and put them in other countries does not seem to understand that Palestinians are not Egyptians, they are not Jordanians, they're not Iraqis. They are Palestinians. And so the idea that you can just displace 1.4 million people, now close to almost 2 million people, kill tens of thousands of them, and then not actually meeting any military objectives, and then say we cannot have ceasefire, it just makes me wonder what the end course is, where are we heading, and are we doing it this way.

Additionally, I'm not seeing a lot of people talking about the fact that with the medical system collapsing, with the lack of water, with the lack of food, we are going to start seeing people dying en masse as a result of disease and hunger, and all of that.

WHITFIELD: When you hear from the IDF that the military objective is that they are going after a particular Hamas operative, and in so doing, whether it be an ambulance or whether it be a hospital or the refugee camp, the operative used that location and used the people in front of the operative as a human shield. Do you accept that explanation?

ROMMAN: I don't. And I don't say that lightly, because at the end of the day, we are only receiving one side of intelligence, one side of information. But me, as a Palestinian, when I speak to members of my community who are announcing the killing of 10, 20, 50 family members, this is a daily occurrence for me. Every day I literally get news of another family member or loved one that has been killed as a result of these airstrikes. They are saying I don't understand why them and why they are being targeted this way. There is no Hamas here. We have heard from medical experts who have worked in these hospitals saying there's no Hamas here. We keep hearing from people on the ground there is no Hamas here.

And so the question then becomes, how surgical is this targeting, especially when we see entire buildings leveled, when we see people under the rubble, and we see children dying en masse. I personally just very much struggle with that. And I know the viewers don't know me, but I do try very hard to look at information from different sources, and my concern is that we are not doing the same here.

WHITFIELD: And just quickly before we let you go, and we are so appreciative that you were able to come in. When you look at the pictures, if we could show live pictures from the nation's capital, and you see what is being called a pro-Palestinian rally today, and in a matter of an hour, 15, or so, many of the people will be making their way to the White House, what is your thought about the growing sentiment?

ROMMAN: Like I said, I don't understand military. I know the history is complex, but I believe that the moral requirement of all of us is clear right now. There are innocent people being killed who have nothing to do with this and who rarely ever have their voices heard. Right now, I am sitting here because those people in Gaza cannot be sitting here, because we cannot interview them and cannot get to them because nobody is allowed in, either.

And so I really hope that when people see these kinds of demonstrations, they understand it is coming from a place of anguish. It's coming from a place of deep, deep, deep pain. I cannot, as a Palestinian begin to explain what it feels like to be watching this and be incredibly helpless. It's not just happening in Gaza. It's happening in the West Bank. People are seeing it. And I've also never seen a coalition this broad for Palestinians in my life. And it's not because they are pro-Hamas or any of that kind of sort. It's because they recognize that people deserve to live in dignity and in peace and without having to be forced into this mass displacement and mass killing campaign.

WHITFIELD: Georgia Representative Ruwa Romman, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:28]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. President Biden says he still hopes to pass a comprehensive gun bill even with a deeply divided Congress. The president and first lady were in Lewiston, Maine, on Friday, just over a week after a gunman killed 18 people there. CNN's Omar Jimenez has more from Lewiston, Maine.

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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even though it's been more than a week since these shootings, the pain is still very raw for so many in this community, and that was the climate that President Biden was visiting in over the course of Friday. He met with first responders, nurses, others that were on the front lines of responding to the pair of shootings that, again, happened a little bit more than a week ago now.

You can't go far in this Lewiston community and the surrounding areas without seeing signs of support, even just behind me where I am outside the bowling alley, which was the first site of where the mass shootings happened that night. We've got signs of support, saying "Lewiston strong," saying things simply like "Be nice", acknowledging the climate and the pain that so many are going through still even at this point. Eighteen people killed total in these shootings, and their families are still trying to figure out how to process.

Now, President Biden, along with meeting with first responders, he also met with members of some of the victims' families. He also took some moments to make some remarks about his visit. Take a listen to some of what he said in regards to the political climate around some of these mass shootings.

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JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know consensus is not only possible. This is about common sense, reasonable, responsible measures to protect our children, our families, our communities, because regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom to go to a bowling alley, a restaurant, a school, a church without being shot and killed.

JIMENEZ: And another thing the president has talked about is how he's had to make too many of these visits before, including in places like Buffalo and Uvalde, and, of course, now here in Lewiston, Maine.

One thing we heard from a community member ahead of his visit about whether they wanted him to be here, they said they were glad he was here, because it showed the highest levels of the U.S. government cared about what happened here in Lewiston. And another thing that my crew and I have heard overwhelmingly, even in the hours after the shooting actually happened a little over a week ago at this point, is that they couldn't believe something like this happened here in Maine. And I say that because when you look at their yearly homicides across the state, that number is comparable to the amount of people that were lost in a single night in this community. And that gives you an idea of the shock, but also the amount that they're actually having to process over what happened, again, in just a matter of minutes at two separate locations, here at this bowling alley, and, of course, just a few miles from me at that bar and restaurant as well.

But every indication we have seen has shown that they have banded together in the face of this adversity, and they are going to try and move forward stronger together. And that's why you can't go far in this community without seeing symbols like the state of Maine frame and a heart over where we are in Lewiston to represent the love and the strength they will have for each other moving forward.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Lewiston, Maine.

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